ABSTRACT
The Palestinian Christians are a remnant of an ancient community, which constituted a majority in historical Palestine in the fourth century. The Palestinian Christians adopted an Arab identity and a spirit of regional ecumenism, while never developing anything similar to the rebellious spirit of the Lebanese Maronites. Although Hamas claims allegiance to Palestinian and Arab nationalism, it can easily define the Christian Palestinians in terms of "the other" or "the enemy" along the same lines as the state of Israel. The Palestinian Christians opted for a participatory nationalism and joined the modern Arab nationalist movement in the hope of a national unity which would transcend religious differences. A basic problem for the survival of the Christian community is emigration, whose major reason is organised violence: the series of wars and the lasting state of emergency. There exists a risk that the Palestinian Christians face political marginalisation after the inclusive cooperation in the national liberation movement reaches its goal.
